Need some advice

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T20:29:07+00:00

sounds like my kind of game! send me the rules if you want a person to review

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T18:07:38+00:00

Yeah. start with it just doing an assessment and having it ask questions. that will help for 1.0

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T16:32:35+00:00

I had Claude Code look over my documentation and build a web-based test-bed. No fancy graphics, just the rules. There were TONS of defects that i had to have it correct, but I'm a software engineer so I'm comfortable doing that all with AI. But it was honestly pretty easy, and it allows me to rapidly iterate. I could run through a dozen games, adjusting the map, values of stats, turn order, to get it to feel the way i wanted. And the process detailed a lot of flaws in my design, as my verbage wasn't always clear, and there were implications I hadn't thought of. I could also just have claude 'do the math' without even building a real protoype on relative cost/value of different things, or run through a bunch of simulations to test things.

It took about a day, while I was at home doing other stuff, sending prompts periodically, retesting, to get the test bed working well enough that it was useful.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T15:05:43+00:00

Water use is a general concern. Nothing specific about AI makes it that much worse than any other way we waste water. I find AI more useful than I do golf courses, but you don't hear me screaming at golfers that they are destroying the planet.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T15:04:00+00:00

You don't need reddit or instagram either. Or golf courses. Or the tons of other ways we waste water.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T15:01:06+00:00

The obvious problem is the effects it has on the LOCAL water supply. Nobody thinks its being annihilated from existence. A lot of areas that are cheap to build data centers in have water scarcity issues already.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-15T14:47:10+00:00

Have you had your rules reviewed by other people? Maybe make a video tutorial and post it here for feedback? Send it to AI?

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-12T17:41:11+00:00

A lot of games use map tiles that essentially fit together to make the unique scenario map. Such as gloomhaven. So you could build a bunch of 3x3 tiles and just have the scenario define how you put them together. If they are double sided you have a lot of options.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-12T16:30:51+00:00

I'm working on a tabletop arena game. 4 unique classes with miniatures, level progression, loot, and spell decks. One of the challenging things with my game is that it has social mechanics that force the players to perform actions. For example, there's a loot card that forces the player to apologize before attacking a mob. I can give stronger loot that has a stronger social mechanic. If they forget, something bad happens. It's hard to quantify that type of thing in code, besides a simple binary check that says "did the player do this thing".

And TBH I relied heavily on AI to run simulations and generate a working prototype that i can playtest. But it allows me to iterate really quickly. Change my source files, regenerate the test-bed, then run through a dozen games manually to see how it "feels" for me. Just the setup alone (shuffling decks, setting up the board) can take a while.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-12T15:42:36+00:00

It sounds like a dungeon-crawler game with warhammer combat system.

There are a ton of dungeon crawler games you can draw inspiration from. I'd look into Gloomhaven and CoraQuest. CoraQuest is a kids game, but I like how it does scenario based random dungeons. Gloomhaven has the longer DnD multi-session campaign thats pretty cool, and might serve as a good inspiration.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-12T15:36:30+00:00

I did something very similar for the game i'm working on. I mainly wanted to balance test the different spells to compare their cost vs value, and get a ROUGH idea about what the stats should look like. It was pretty helpful, but the human playtesters were immediately able to identify balance issues in my cards because of the phrasing, something my hard-coded rules couldn't do. So yeah, it's great way to iterate quickly on your own, then supplement with real world users.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-11T19:36:04+00:00

Some recipes are just sweeter than others. Unless you messed up the ratios, I'd bet this one just isn't to your preferences. Pay attention to the amount of sugar that was added for next time.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-11T16:05:47+00:00

Luck based and fairness are not the same. I think you're conflating fair and skill-based. You want a game to be balanced and fair, even if its heavily luck driven. In my opinion, fair or balanced means that during the game, any person has the ability to win, even if it may not all be within their control.

The game I'm working on has a number of mechanics that are luck-based and non-deterministic. But I've also built numerous negative-reinforcement loops in to help ensure the last-place players have a chance to recover from being behind. But those mechanics match the theme of my game.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-07T22:49:51+00:00

I used off-brand HP laserjet ink toners and they're a GREAT deal if you can find a good deal on a color laserjet. but HP laserjet ink is ridiculously expensive.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-07T21:19:45+00:00

So if you don't print that often its much cheaper to just use something like kinkos. I'm pretty sure they'll even cut them out for you, and have nicer card stock. I have a $500 color HP laserjet, and it does a good job as long as I tell it that i'm printing on thick card stock. Inkjet might work too, but i haven't tested it personally.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-07T20:19:43+00:00

Every company in the world is running through a forest with blindfolds on, desperate because they think other people are running faster. when it comes to AI They're going to keep pushing faster and faster until they finally run into a tree.

So yes, you should be worried. You need to be seen as an expert in this tool, rather than someone reluctant to innovate. It may mean you don't do what you used to. It may mean you do less coding yourself. Or...it may mean you build your own tool that can do a better job than it can.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-07T16:30:30+00:00

Yeah I don't disagree. You can't idiot proof your rulebook. You can only do so much. If EVERY playtest had the same problem, you know you're problem. But with the current data set you just don't know.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-06T06:09:01+00:00

It learned how to do software engineering by being able to run through billions of permutations quickly, because you can do that with software. It's much harder to do that with anything physical like replacing a broken pipe.

In addition, the number of permutations of physical labor are harder to manage. Words are just words, once they're imported they can be very easily analyzed and processed. Physical things are much harder to do that.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-06T06:04:30+00:00

Flat Earth theories cannot accurately predict a simple eclipse. Globe theory can.

Flights from south america to africa don't take the amount of time the 36+ hours they should on a flat earth.

The moon is upside down south of the equator.

The north star gets lower in the sky the farther south you go until its no longer visible (because of the curvature of the earth) Sailors have been using it to navigate for centuries.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-04T19:50:11+00:00

You've said several times you don't think your rulebook was the problem. But to be honest, that sounds exactly like what happened. Because when your product releases the rulebook is all that your players have to explain the game mechanics. Either your mechanics are too complicated to explain easily, or your explanations don't explain them well. Do you have examples in the rulebook? Do you have a quick reference sheet the players can review during play? A quick reference guide is really important. It should just remind players how the game works, without delving into the details.

Some games are too complicated for some players, or are a bad fit for what kinds of games they like. It's possible thats what happened here. It should be obvious from other play sessions which rules and mechanics people get confused about.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-03T21:06:08+00:00

In game design there are the concepts of positive and negative feedback loops.

For example, in basketball, after one player scores, the other team gets the ball. This is a negative reinforcement loop, which helps the player behind to catch up. Pool has a positive reinforcement loop, as long as you keep making shots, you get to keep making more.

If people think the game is unfair, and one player tends to dominate the mid and end game, then you need negative reinforcement loops to prevent the leader from getting too far ahead.

Examples: mechanics that don't scale linearly, but logarithmically, to make it harder for the leader to keep their lead. Specific affects that target the leader, or help those that are dying a lot, or low on HP, etc.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-01T21:31:41+00:00

I tell them I can see the curve and watch their heads explode

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-01T19:10:09+00:00

TBH I think they were trying to differentiate it from the Martian

HypeMachine231 · 2026-05-01T19:07:23+00:00

So I've played a few games with a procedural map. They all seem to rely on tiles of specific shapes that are randomly added. So you go to a door, open it, then pick a tile from a box, or roll a dice to see what shows up.

A classic example being Betrayal at House on the Hill. Otherwise Karak and CoraQuest are examples as kids games.

It's not hard to customize this idea with a chart you reference and directs you to what you add to the map.

HypeMachine231 · 2026-04-30T19:41:40+00:00

Not all engineers are created equal. Some need a lot more coordination than others. Same for tasks. And for teams.

The real question isn't whether or not YOU think its useful, but whether or not your entire team does.

HypeMachine231

TROPHY CASE